Ya 3drahthaars, Ken is a great guy for sure he is and will be my main go to for any questions on training and such. I live on the opposite coast unfortunately, but hope to meet him in person and perhaps get a few pointers in person from him once the pup arrives and is some what established in her training!

Rumbolt, you have already got plenty of good advice about gear to use for your new pup so I will go a slightly different direction. Before you bring your pup home you will spend plenty of time thinking about your future hunting dog. Capture your thoughts on two lists. The two lists are:

1) all the things you want the dog to be able to do.2) the things you do not want your dog to do.

Both lists are equally important.

These lists will help you plan your training and/or choose the program or programs to help you get there. Down the road you can also refer back to them to assess where you are and where you are headed. If you are an experienced trainer you will already know how to break your lists down. If not, seek out an experienced trainer (mentor) you respect, to help you break each task on your list down to its simplest parts. Then plan out your training to step by step build a progression toward your goals for both you and your new puppy. Above all don't rush it and know with all certainty that a dog can not be trained over the net. Take everything you read on the net with a grain of salt, including what I say. Good luck with your new pup and enjoy the ride.Willie

Hi all, this is my first post here and I've only been on board the forum a short while. I had to respond to this post as I too have a pup coming from this litter and I'm so stoked it's beginning to hurt . My previous dogs have been a GSP, GWP, GSP in that order. I've had a desire for a DD for quite some time, in fact if my last GSP didn't have a blood link to my first I'd have been there already. I said farewell to Indy on Sept 1st of last year at 15 years old and a crap ton of birds under her belt. Ironically we let her go on the Canadian Labour Day weekend where a killer Sharptail hunt is held at the Camp Wainwright army base in east central Alberta where she absolutely ruled for 13 years. Pretty much any day out there without a limit was a result of the guns not the dog. I told my wife that we were going to wait a while before finding another hunting partner because losing Indy hurt a lot but by mid-October we had a deposit with Hugh and now picking up the little rascal is only a few weeks away. I've been researching breeders for some time and after speaking directly with Hugh, I knew he was "my guy". From previous experience I knew getting back in the saddle was the best therapy so let the fun begin!

rumbolt wrote:here are the parents of the pup I will be getting from Hugh Slaney in Manitoba this spring.

Roger that, it's the 10th for me. I'll be flying in so I'm really looking forward to meeting Hugh. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter a lick to me which pup I get but when I look at the pics he's posting I can't help but say - "Hmmm, I wonder which one?" - they're all such beauties.